Adjustable cam tracks



Jan. 27, 1959 F. ANDERSON 2,870,652

ADJUSTABLE CAM TRACKS Original Filed Feb. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll 11 j amlllrlhfllll H W HU ll l Ill I n i I ll nvvE/v 7-02 v Peon/MNAwoaesozv A rfwiwiv Jan. 27, 1959 F. ANDERSON ADJUSTABLE CAM TRACKS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ori inal Filed Feb. 8, 1955 United States PatentADJUSTABLE CAM TRACKS Frohman Anderson, Las Vegas, Nev.

Original application February 8, 1955, Serial No. 486,773, now PatentNo. 2,851,080, dated September 9, 1958. Divided and this applicationOctober 10, 1957, Serial No. 689,426

2 Claims. (Cl. 74-568) This invention relates to cam structures in whichthe cam is an elongated flexible member, such as a rod or strip, andcooperates with a cam follower, one of the two cooperating members beingtranslatable relative to the other to effect a control of any suitabledynamic mechanism.

An example of the use of such a cam structure is shown in the pendingapplication Serial No. 486,773, filed February 8, 1955, now Patent No.2,851,080, of which this application is a division. In that applicationthe cam structure is embodied in a machine for shaping metal sheets bypulling them through forming dies and the cams are used to control theoperation of certain dynamic mechanism while the sheets are being pulledthrough the dies, cam followers being in operative relation to valves incontrol of servo mechanisms. The cams are therefore tracks for the camfollowers and may be termed cam tracks.

In order to vary the pattern of operation of the dynamic mechanism, thecontour of the cam has to be alterable to be able to present the desiredcam profile, and the present invention relates specifically to the meansfor effecting local adjustments of the cam to modify its contour.

The invention therefore resides in the mounting means for such a cam andhas for a primary object the provision of such means which will permitof very precise adjustments without affecting the connection with thecam and at the same time will hold the cam securely in any adjustedposition.

The invention comprehends a mounting for the cam which has a coarse andfine adjustment each of which may be operated with the cam connected tothe mounting.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawingswill now be described.

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of a draw bench including a slidablecarriage and of a gear box with carriage actuating train forming aportion of the sheet forming mechanism of said pending application, andof a cam structure embodying this invention mounted on the carriage.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale of the camstructure, draw bench and carriage of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail on line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 3.

In the illustrated embodiment, the draw bench is an elongated channelmember mounted upon a gear box 11 and slidably supporting therein is acarriage 12. The bottom of the draw bench has an opening therein asshown in Fig. 1, through which a bull gear 13 engages with a rack 14 onthe bottom of the carriage. The bull gear is driven from a motor (notshown) connected to shaft 15 which is operatively connected to the bullgear by a train of gears as shown in Fig. 1. The bull gear 13 thustranslates the carriage l2.

Patented Jan. 27, 1959 Secured upon the carriage 12 are a plurality ofspaced angular cam bearing frames 16 which carry a plurality of cam bars17, each of which carries a series of spaced cam supporting rods 18 onthe top end of each of which is a cam supporting clamp 19 for the cam20. The cams are shown as flexible round rods or wires, there being aplurality of these in the illustrated construction for purposes whichappear in said pending application.

For each rod 18 the bar 17 has a vertical bore disposed at one side ofthe central longitudinal plane of the bar and the rod 18 passes freelythrough this vertical bore. The rod is provided with fairly closelyspaced circumferential grooves. The bar 17 also has a lateral boreadjacent the vertical bore. This lateral bore has enlarged ends one ofwhich intersects the vertical bore. A springpressed latching plunger isdisposed in this lateral bore and has an enlarged head 21 at one end anda conical enlargement 22 at the'other end, the plunger being disposed sothat the conical enlargement is in the large end of the lateral borewhich intersects the vertical bore. A spring 23 bears against the head21 and urges the plunger in the direction to bring the conicalenlargement 22 into the registering circumferential groove on the rod18. This latching condition is illustrated in Fig. 5. .When the plungeris pushed in it releases the conical enlargement 22 from the groove inrod 18 and leaves the rod free to be moved up and down. The movement ofrod 18 to bring successive grooves into registry with the conicalenlargement 22 constitutes the coarse adjustment of cam 20.

The fine adjustment is effected through the clamp 19 which has aninternally threaded vertical socket into which the threaded end of rod18 engages, and a knurled ring 24 on the rod 18 facilitates turning therod and screwing it up or down in the socket of the clamp.

The cam 20 is releasably clamped by a side plate 25 on the clamp, theplate being located by a dowel pin and a clamping screw 26. The camrests in a rounded recess in the top of the clamp formed partially inthe plate and partially in the body of the clamp.

It is thus apparent that both a coarse and a fine adjust ment of the camis effected without altering the relation of the cam to its-clamp. Thespacing of the rods 18 is such as to obtain thedesired exactitude ofshaping of the cam.

It is obvious that simple ratcheting means may be substituted for thegrooves and the latch construction and that only the clamp engaging endof the rod need be rotatable and that, for example, this end may beswiveled on to the rod which may otherwise be non-rotatable. The detailsof construction of the cam mounting as illustrated in the drawings andabove particularly described may be otherwise altered in ways obvious tothose skilled in the art without departing from the principle or scopeof the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable cam structure comprising an elongated flexible memberconstituting a cam track and a plurality of adjustable supports thereforeach comprising a relatively grooves along its length and having aconnection at one;

end with the cam track, a plunger in the transverse. bore having aconical head adapted to engage and fit into a circumferential groove inthe rod in the intersection of the twobores and slidable axially tomovethe headinto and out of saidiengageable position, and a springbiasing the plunger into the engageable position.

2. An adjustable cam structure as defined in claim 1 in which theconnection between the rod and cam track includes a clarnp for the camtrack and a threaded conmotion between the clamp and rod;

References (lited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

